Sharp, Samsung Among LCD Makers to Pay $388 Million in U.S. Pricing Case

Sharp Corp., Samsung Electronics Co. (005930), and six other makers of liquid crystal display panels used in computers and televisions agreed to pay $388 million to settle price-fixing claims by direct purchasers of the products.

Yeah, in these class action lawsuits, direct purchasers are typically those individuals and entities who bought **directly** from one or more of the named defendants, their subsidiaries or affiliates. Indirect purchasers are typically those individuals and entities who bought from the likes of an intermediary or retailer that is not one of the named defendants.

So in other words, if you are a multi-billion dollar conglomerate like Dell, Acer or HP you get to split whatever is leftover after the shysters... err I mean, the lawyers take their cut. And the lowly consumers, the ones the who actually got the shaft for this price fixing, get nothing.

That's pretty much it, Bill. However, those 'multi-billion dollar conglomerates' usually opt out and file their own lawsuits using their own battalion of lawyers. The 'lowly consumers' get next to nothing in many instances (coupon settlements). Of course, the shys-.......err, attorneys for the class always get their fees paid in cold, hard cash (and lots of it).